Sheriff's Department sets goals for San Marcos

KEN MA - Staff Writer

SAN MARCOS -- Sheriff's deputies plan to crack down on car
thieves who prey on moviegoers and restaurant patrons, reduce the
number of cars towed in Latino neighborhoods and curb gang activity
at San Marcos High School in the coming year.

Highlighted in a report released by the San Marcos Sheriff's
Station this week, the plans aim to curb continuing problems in
this city of 65,000.

Auto thefts and vehicle burglaries, many of which occurred in
the San Marcos Boulevard area around Old California Restaurant Row,
were largely responsible for increasing the city's crime rate last
year, said Sheriff's Capt. Kim Quaco on Friday.

Last year, 26.4 crimes were committed per 1,000 people, compared
to 24.2 in 2002, according Sheriff's Department statistics.

Ninety two deputies at the San Marcos station cover the city and
its surrounding unincorporated areas, all of which total 105 square
miles and 95,000 residents.

In 2003, 270 vehicles were stolen, which is a little more than
22 cars a month, sheriff's statistics show. The monthly average was
16.5 in 2002 and 19 in 2001.

Thieves are stealing a majority of the cars in the San Marcos
Boulevard area, many of which are parked in the lots of the Edwards
Cinemas and Old California Restaurant Row, and they are also
burglarizing vehicles around the city, some of which are unlocked,
said Quaco, who is the San Marcos station commander.

"The area around the theaters has more cars than a car
dealership," Quaco said.

Deputies plan to use surveillance cameras around the theater and
other areas, increase special operations with plainclothes deputies
and work with a regional county auto theft task force to curb the
car thefts, Quaco said. They will also continue using neighborhood
watch programs, hold community meetings and educate the public.

A Restaurant Row management official said she was not aware of
the increase in vehicle burglaries at the restaurants, but added
that security patrols are done on a regular basis. Edwards
officials did not return a telephone call seeking comment.

Edwards theater patron Joan Kintner said the rise in auto thefts
worries her, but said she knows that the extra security will
help.

Another challenge for deputies is to reduce the number of
vehicles in Latino neighborhoods that are towed because they are
not registered or because the drivers do not have licenses.

A majority of the vehicles towed and impounded last year were
registered to owners with Latino surnames, Quaco said.

"It's been a problem we've noticed for a couple of years," he
said.

Owners are usually given warnings for their first infraction,
City Manager Rick Gittings said. On the next offense, their cars
are impounded for a maximum of 30 days at a cost of $1,200.

Frank Puchi, a Palomar College professor and a Latino activist,
said Latinos are the victims because some of them do not understand
how the system works.

Public education to teach Latinos how to register their cars and
obtain a drivers license, he said, will help solve the problem.

San Marcos deputies, Quaco said, will create a community
policing program that will explain the requirements of licensing
and vehicle registration. Deputies will also distribute pamphlets
and conduct follow up meetings.

The last goal is to reduce gang activity at San Marcos High
School which increased in October, peaked in December, and is now
declining because of tougher enforcement, Quaco said.

He said some gang members are fighting and carrying weapons on
campus. To combat the problem, an extra deputy, in addition to the
campus resource deputy, has been assigned to the school until the
end of this month.

San Marcos High School Principal Nancy Peterson said the school
is also participating in Operation Safe Schools, a county-sponsored
program that allows school officials and deputies to meet with
parents and students who are at risk of becoming gang members.